In which Brazilian city is the world's largest Carnival held?

The world’s largest Carnival is held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio Carnival is famous for its enormous street celebrations and spectacular samba-school parades.

The festival takes place before Lent and combines neighborhood blocos, music, dancing, costumes, floats, and formal competitions. Guinness World Records and widely cited Carnival histories identify Rio’s street Carnival as the largest, with approximately two million people per day taking part in the city’s celebrations.

The centerpiece for the major samba-school competition is the Sambadrome, a purpose-built parade avenue opened in 1984. Each samba school presents a themed performance with elaborate floats, costumes, choreography, percussion, and thousands of participants. The parade is judged as a competition, not merely staged as a procession.

Carnival is celebrated throughout Brazil, including major events in Salvador, Recife, and São Paulo. Those cities have distinctive traditions and huge audiences, but the standard answer to the “world’s largest Carnival” question is Rio de Janeiro. Rio’s modern festival also has deep roots: the city’s first Carnival festival is traditionally dated to 1723.